good things come from sweden

Is there anyone who doesn't like ABBA? Is that even possible? A couple of weeks ago Kent and I caught a few minutes of an A&E ABBA biography and it made me realize how much I don't know about the band, but it also made me realize how much I love, and always will love, their music. Someone referred to their style as "timeless pop" and I couldn't agree more-upbeat (even when they're singing about sad themes), harmonic, fresh, catchy, unique-you just don't find that type of pop these days. I really think I could have been happy during the Disco era.

I also love that the band was composed of married couples: Bjorn and Agnetha (blonde) and Benny and Anni-Frid "Frida" (brunette). It doesn't get more idyllic, although unfortunately, they both divorced later in life. Such a shame.

What's interesting about them as well is when they were done, they were done. They never said the band "broke up" or anything, they just let themselves disappear and went their separate ways. I'm curious if they're even friends still. There's definitely an air of mystery surrounding the Swedish band.

Here's one of my favorite ABBA songs, "One of Us", which is probably one of the best pop break up songs ever written. The video is a rare combination of late 70s / early 80s styling (hair, clothes, use of mirrors, profile shots, etc.) and Northern European simplicity.



And here's one of Kent's favorites, "Super Trouper". Keep an eye out for the classic Disco pointer finger pose. I can't go into analyzing the video because there is too much to say and I might make fun of ABBA, but I would never want to do that because I love them too much. I might mock a Britney Spears video, but ABBA is special.



Someday in the future, our kids are going to get the ABBA Gold albums in their Christmas stockings and wonder who on earth ABBA is, but they need to learn what good, happy pop is all about. Kent will probably throw in Michael Jackson's Thriller and Bad albums as well which I'll be 100% on board with, but ABBA is a must too.

Anyway, here's to ABBA. May you live forever loved in the pop world.

just say ahh....

Spa Week? $50 treatments? How come I never knew about this until now?
I don't know about you, but I'm taking advantage of this heavenly event.
Click here to learn more.
Relaxation at a reduced rate; not much can top that.

ruby red shoes

I love good advertising. It doesn't matter what medium it comes through (even the back of a city bus) as long as it's clever, simple and I get it. My view as I waited at a stoplight last week:

I apologize for the dirty windshield and camera phone picture quality, but I couldn't miss a chance to capture this:

How awesome is that? Definitely made me chuckle, and I might want a pair of red glitter Converse high tops now.

sweet(BACH)x

I was listening to an old CD mix today while driving and came across this lovely song:



Who knew I was an R&B girl? And that video? The best. It took me hours to locate that song on the world wide web back in the day (circa 2000-ish), but after I heard it today, I typed in the main lyrics and lots of good stuff came up including that awesome video on Youtube. I guess I can kind of see how the video relates to the lyrics, but not really. My favorite is the leopard coat in the desert. Talk about fancy. Please enjoy.

beat

Do all husbands look like this after work?

This poor guy was beat yesterday.
I guess drafting motions will do that to you.
I'm not sure how he mustered up the strength,
but being the wonderful man that he is,
(and because we're participating in another Ragnar Relay)
he went for an evening run with me.

I am a lucky girl.

our simulated safari

I'm not sure when it hit, but the desire to go to the Wild Animal Park took a hold of me on Presidents' Day. I like looking at animals, but I think I really wanted to feel like I was on a safari in Africa. After being indecisive for about an hour, we just ran with the idea, packed our cooler with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sliced oranges, vanilla and strawberry milks and two water bottles, then set out to San Diego. (We brought the new camera, too, as you'll see.)

Our welcome to the park animal, a bright blue macaw.

First official stop: Feeding the lorikeets. They loved Kent (and the cup of nectar he was holding).

It was a strange feeling having a bird on my arm, but look at those awesomely vibrant colors? Definitely worth it for an up close experience.

Long, "monkey" arms run in my family, so I could relate to this guy.

The Serengeti? Not quite, but isn't it lovely?

It sort of felt like we were entering the Heart of Africa although the sidewalks, fences and trams kind of killed that feeling. Oh well, it was still beautiful.

I liked this guy. (He's the blurry brown spot to the left of the sign.)

This is a common Kent stance. It says, "Really? Do you need to stop and read every sign? Do you really need a shot of that? I'll wait here, but let's go." What a good husband.

Leo. How do you like the staged jeep? And look at the size of those paws? Apparently, he sleeps like that for most of the day and then comes to life at night. I think I'll take the sleepy lion.

Flamingos and Kent.

We went to the Cheetah show and I discovered an unknown fact about Kent: The cheetah was his favorite animal as a child and he had a poster on his wall that read, "Blow in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere." Rowr.

A gorilla, just crossing his feet, looking down. He seemed completely bored and interestingly enough, human-like.

A little documentation of the trip in front of the gorilla cage.

We also saw a DAY old elephant. Isn't it adorable? I bet that mama elephant is so happy not to be pregnant. If I remember correctly, the elephant gestation period is 22 months. Yikes.

Mr. Ryan Darby and baby Kate joined us later in the afternoon. It was great seeing them and Kate was an angel baby.

All in all, it was a wonderful day at the Wild Animal Park. I don't know when we'll back (maybe when we have kids?), but it was worth the trip.

working from home...

has its benefits. Pink slippers and tights all day?
It doesn't get much better than that.